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YAMAHA 500 XTC
By Charles Clayton
"Hoop a! Hoopah!!" goes the
motor and the overhead cam
strokes the valves silently. We've
never ridden a quieter, smoother
running thumper than this. Starting drill is standard big four-stroke
single procedure involving the
.
.'
alvc IIfter tnggcr under the left
andle, It takes five or six stomps of the
tarter to bring her to life on frostly
mornings; one or two kicks do it when
she's warm. Big flywheels keep her
running
smoothly
and
retard
acceleration when you gas it . Top speed
is right about 80 mph.
Yamaha bills its big new four-stroke
as an Enduro. It weighs 304.5 lbs, ready
to ride, including 6-volt battery, lights,
hom and mirror. In the hands of a
full-grown rider, it should be fine for
western enduros, but a tu rning radius of
86.6 inches makes it handle a little too
slow for tigh t woodsy runs like you find
in the northwest and east. Its rake and
long, long forks make the XT stable as a
chopper in straigh t-line running, and it
won't pitch you over the handlebars as
easy as its cammer competition does
when the going gets rough.
With 171.5 lbs. resting on the rear
tire an~ 133 o~ the front, you still have
to gas It over Jumps to ke~p ~~ front
end up. but for a heavy bike It IS very
forgiving of the kind of mistakes we
make when we get tired and forget to
slow down. The XT's suspension is
adequate as it comes, but there is room
for improvement if you want to spend
the bucks. The forks are whippy and
work better raised two inches in the
triple clamps. Our test bike, one of the
first off the boat, had a lot of slop
where the front brake lug fits in the left
slider. We fixed it with a thin metal
shi m. Dropping the forks reduced the
ground clearance a little too much so we
are constantly banging the armored
downpipe on rocks. The left side cases
are unprotected by the sk impy stock
skidplate, so it will need a real bash
plate installation for real enduro riding.
More people have asked us what the
XT is like than any dirt bike we've
ever tested. For years hard to please
riders have been stuffing available
We ma naged to break the fr o nt brake lever in a crash , but XTC survived
ma ny fa lls witho ut damage. Some t imes it takes two men to pick up.
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